Neighbors oppose plans for Fifth Church of Christ Scientist in Cleveland

A tug-of-war is being waged over the Fifth Church of Christ Scientist by preservationists and development proponents. The vacant church sits near the Cleveland-Lakewood border.

CLEVELAND Battle lines are being drawn around the long-vacant Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, 11623 Lake Ave.

On one side is the city and developer Carnegie Companies Inc., who view the church as a hindrance to redeveloping the block with a strip shopping center.

On the other side is a group of neighbors who view the 86-year-old church as a catalyst for economic development and want to save it. But the group says they feel like the city is stonewalling them.

Jeon Francis, head of Neighbors In Action!, said his group has made several requests of the city, but so far has been rebuffed.

“We have some short-term action requests, including putting up a banner on the fence with our group’s website, having a community meeting with the city, and allowing us to put together a group of volunteers to clean up trash and fix up the site, but every request was denied,” Francis said.

Two years ago, Ward 16 Councilman Jay Westbrook sponsored an ordinance passed by council authorizing the city’s director of public works to let the Edgewater Homeowners Association maintain the church’s landscape.

Westbrook said he agreed to have a community meeting, probably in April, regarding the church. But he said the group asked for permission to improve the interior of the church, which the city will not approve.

He said that for the 10 years that the city has owned the Fifth Church site, the city has engaged the community by way of a stakeholders group made up of active residents including the Clifton Area Residents Association, the Edgewater Homeowners’ Association, the Clifton Merchants Association, Cudell Improvement Inc. and the Cleveland Restoration Society.

“Interested parties have joined this group as a way of guiding the city’s actions with the property,” Westbrook said.

“This group has participated in the marketing of the site, in the selection of potential developers, and offered feedback about goals and strategies. The city has not acted alone or unilaterally regarding this landmark,” he added.

Francis said the neighborhood group is reaching out to potential developers who may be interested in refurbishing the church as part of a mixed-used development in that block. He is directing inquiries to his group’s website at savefifthchurch.com.

There is a shortage of quality, multi-family housing in Cleveland’s walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods, according to a recent report, “Broadening Urban Investment to Leverage Transit-Cleveland,” by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology.

Anita Brindza, executive director of Cudell Improvement Inc., said the cost of redeveloping the church with a new user could be up to $10 million, a figure that Francis disputes. A 2009 study by the city of redeveloping the church showed the figure to be only $3.2 million.

Brindza said that figure was only to stabilize the church, not to refurbish, add new mechanical systems and install a new user in it. She directed calls regarding the cost estimates to Robert Vilkas, the city’s manager of architecture and site development.

Vilkas said he could not speak directly to news reporters, citing the city’s communications protocols. He directed inquiries to Maureen Harper, the city’s chief of communications.

Harper did not return a phone call seeking comment prior to deadline on March 19.

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